Caravan to Vaccarès (film)
| runtime = 98 minutes (theatrical release) | music = Stanley Myers | cinematography = Fred Tammes | editing = Robert Morgan | studio = Geoffrey Reeve Productions Societe Nouvelle Prodis |country = United Kingdom France | language = English | budget = | gross = }} Caravan to Vaccarès is a 1974 British-French action film directed by Geoffrey Reeve and starring David Birney, Charlotte Rampling and Michael Lonsdale. It was loosely based on the novel Caravan to Vaccarès by Alistair MacLean. Plot In the south of France, a mysterious assassin shoots one man, then another. A wandering young American adventurer, Bowman (David Birney), meets a pretty young British photographer, Lila (Charlotte Rampling) when she hitches a ride. They run into the assassin while helping a couple who have broken down by the side of the road. When they arrive in town they meet a French duke (Michel Lonsdale) who invites them to dinner. David reveals that the duke had met him in Paris and offered him a job for $3,000 and a return ticket to New York but he doesn't know what for. He is driving a car lent by the duke. That night a man breaks into a place where they are staying but Bowman fights him off. The duke appears and hires Bowman to smuggle a Hungarian scientist (Michael Bryan) out of France to the United States. Bowman is reluctant but the duke says if he won't do it he will report the car as being stolen. The scientist escaped the Iron Curtain by hiding with a caravan of gypsies, but is being pursued by an unscrupulous gang bent on capturing him for sale to the highest bidder. A woman who helps Bowman is murdered at a bull fight. She turns out to be the Duc's daughter. Lila and the scientist are kidnapped, but Borman rescues them. Lila and Bowman sleep together. Bowman is driving the scientist to safety in a car when a helicopter chases after them. The helicopter drives the car off the road. It seems the scientist has fallen into quicksand; a rope is dropped from the helicopter to retrieve him. However it turns out the man is Bowman in disguise. He overpowers one of the men in the helicopter then is dropped into a bull ring. Bowman defeats a bull fighter and is about to be killed by a charging bull but is rescued when the Duc shoots it dead. The Duc farewells Bowman and Lila at the airport with the scientist. Cast * David Birney – Bowman * Charlotte Rampling – Lila * Michael Lonsdale – Duc de Croyter * Marcel Bozzuffi – Czerda * Michael Bryant – Zuger * Serge Marquand – Ferenc * Marianne Eggerickx – Cecile * Françoise Brion – Stella * Vania Vilers – Vania * Manitas De Plata – Ricardo * Jean-Pierre Cargol – Jules * Jean-Pierre Castaldi – Pierre * Jean Michaux – Waiter * Alan Scott – Receptionist * Jean-Yves Gautier – Gendarme * Graham Hill – helicopter pilot Production The story was originally written as a screenplayThe Man who Knows where the Action is. Alistair MacLean and Godfrey Smith. The Sunday Times (London, England), Sunday, 18 January 1970; pg. 37S; Issue 7651 before being turned into a novel. The film was shot on location in the Camargue. The finale, where David Birney is dropped into a bull ring from a helicopter, was filmed last.Cater, Bill, and Allan Hall. "Beware of the stand-in." Sunday Times England 28 July 1974: 28. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 December 2015. Reception The film had a royal premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square honour of the Save the Children Fund. It was attended by Princess Anne and her husband Mark Phillips. They were protected by her bodyguard Inspector James Beaton. It was Beaton's return to duty after having been wounded during a kidnapping attempted on the princess.Mahone Won't Fail—He's Made a C in Jail Parrott, Jennings. Los Angeles Times (1923–Current File) Angeles, Calif 9 August 1974: a2."Court Circular." Times England 9 August 1974: 18. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 December 2015. The Guardian praised Rampling's beauty but said Birney "is about as expressive as a constipated owl" and that the film had "rather plastic romance and enough cinematic action to fill half a bucket with stuntmen's sweat."City of all the angles: Derek Malcolm reviews new films Malcolm, Derek. The Guardian (1959–2003) (UK) 9 August 1974: 8. References External links * *Review at Variety.com * *Review at Time Out London *Review at AlistairMacLean.com *Review at New York Times Category:1974 films Category:1970s action thriller films Category:1970s spy films Category:British films Category:English-language films Category:Films based on British novels Category:Films based on works by Alistair MacLean Category:Films directed by Geoffrey Reeve Category:Films set in France Category:British action films Category:French action films Category:French spy films Category:British spy films Category:Cold War spy films Category:French films Category:Film scores by Stanley Myers Category:English-language French films